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Stucco is a material made up of a binder, aggregates and water that hardens into an extremely dense solid when applied wet. Stucco is an ideal low-cost material for the exterior of your home. This material is durable, hard and requires minimal maintenance.

Stucco functions as a decorative coating for interior and exterior ceilings and walls. It may be used to cover construction materials that are better kept out of sight such as concrete, metal, clay brick, cinder brick and adobe. Rest assured, the professionals at Best Boca Raton Handyman can take care of this job for you!

What is Stucco?The contemporary type of stucco is made from sand, materials of Portland cement and water. When these materials are mixed a plaster material is formed. The traditional type of stucco on the other hand uses lime in the place of Portland cement and is applied in various layers as soon as mixed. While stucco is low in cost, it comes in a wide range of textures and colors making in highly customizable. Pigments and color aggregates may be added to white Portland cement to alter the color of the material.

Stucco can be used in different sizes to form different textures. When applied with texture, stucco can mimic the look of stone, brick or wood. Various color pigments can be mixed with the plaster to make stucco look exactly as you want it to look.

Stucco comes with a durable and strong finish. It is a versatile material that can be used in any climate. It can also be applied over concrete masonry, concrete, wood or steel frames and brick.​Common Stucco IssuesStucco is a durable wall surface. When properly installed stucco can last for a very long time. Its rigid nature however makes it prone to developing holes, cracks and blisters. Once holes, cracks or blisters start to develop, it should immediately be sealed to avoid further damage. When left unrepaired, these damages may cause stucco to decay early and diminish its endurance.

Water Damage. This is the most common issue of stucco. Water damage is often cause by the incorrect installation of the flashing. Flashing is a metal installed to prevent water from getting into the joints of the structure of your home. It is commonly used to waterproof roofs, around windows and doors. When incorrectly installed, water seeps in causing structural water damage and cracks.

Cracks. The stucco siding can develop cracks. These cracks are often small and contained within doors and windows. Cracks develop due to your home’s seismic movements or water damage.

Errors in installation can also cause web-type cracks to appear in the siding.

Staining. Rainwater causes contaminants from your home’s windows and roofs and flows to the stucco walls. These often leave stains on the stucco walls.

Holes. Birds such as woodpeckers can create holes on your stucco walls. This however does not cause any structural damage.

​Big or small stucco damage is bound to happen at one point in time. Even well-maintained stucco exteriors and sidings will sooner or later develop some issues. There will always come a time when stucco repair is necessary.

Stucco RepairWhile it can sometimes be difficult, in most instances stucco can be repaired. When it is impossible to repair stucco, removal and restoration are the best options. This scenario happens when initial stucco issues have been neglected for a long time.

Stucco repair involves the process of finding stucco issues, fixing these issues and filling the damage area with additional stucco material. Stucco repair categorically includes the fixing of the damage but not dealing with the cause of the damage.

This description of stucco repair has now been widened to include dealing with the cause before actually going on with the repairs.

While there are a lot of stucco maintenance and repairs that you can do, most of the repairs should be done by a licensed handyman most especially issues dealing with water damage and cracks.

​Small stucco issues without any molds or structural damage can be a DIY project. When there are already numerous cracks especially near door, windows and the roof; water damage as evidence by indentations and soft spots and water damage causing the stucco to crumble, it is always wise to call your handyman to do stucco repair.

It is important for stucco repairs to be done properly. When not done properly, stucco repairs can lead to bigger issues. The thing is, there is no way of knowing how big the damage is from how the stucco wall or siding looks from the outside.

Early detection and addressing of the issue are keys to a successful stucco repair to avoid removal and restoration. ​Recognizing and knowing about the various types of cracks on the stucco walls and sidings allow you to know what exactly are happening beneath the stucco walls and sidings. Stucco issues when not immediately repaired can cost you several thousands of dollars in home damage.